CargoCap GmbH

Freight transportation in congested urban areas

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Building structure of the pipeline network

While a new infrastructure develops in the underground, everything stays in motion on the surface. No construction site disturbs the overground traffic. This is made possible by underground pipe jacking.

On pipe jacking the jacking pipes are driven by a jacking station from a starting shaft through the underground towards the target shaft. The emerging ground is mined mechanically by the working face and is automatically transported towards the surface through a pipe string. The pipe jacking method works precisely on the centimetre over several hundred metres or even several hundred kilometres via computer controlling; on the field of pipe construction it corresponds to state-of-the-art technology.

The advantages of pipe jacking are:

Remote requirement of surface limited on starting and target shafts

low disturbance of residents as well as of inactive and running traffic

damage of abuting buildings, vegetation and lines is avoided

bends and long distance driving are possible

high accuracy due to precise, computer-based controlling systems

applicable in nearly every depth, geology and hydrogeology

no need for lowering of the ground water during the time taken for construction

competitive with high driving speed (15 to 20 m/day)

Because of using pipe jacking and the relatively small diameter of the transportation pipes, the CargoCap-pipes can be laid in public space next to or under existing infrastructure facilities without problems. That could be sewers, gas-, water- and district heating pipes, pipelines, electric cables for data and energy transfer as well as underground railway and road tunnels.

CargoCap is able to expand unrestrictedly because of underground line alignment. Additional transportation pipes increase the transport capacity depending on demand.

An appropriate law for the transport of packaged goods which is bound to pipes has not been legislated yet. That means that an official approval and an authorisation of the plans are not necessary for CargoCap.

Also a new law for CargoCap is not necessary, because we are able to revert to the existing construction plans. In dealing with the planning, the land utilisation plans as well as the general, qualified development plans related to the project must be taken into account. A building permission process for the pipes is not necessary, because an exception of facts, that exclude the application of the North-Rhine Westphalia's building law, is given. Merely the individual stations need an authorisation in correspondence with the building law.